(22-10-2008) Two projects worth $164,322 to upgrade healthcare services in the central provinces of Lam Dong and Dak Lak were approved by the Consulate General of Japan in HCM City yesterday.

The project to provide medical equipment to two general hospitals in the provinces are part of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects (GGP) funded by the Government of Japan.

The beneficiary hospitals are the Medical Centre in Lam Dong’s Cat Tien District and the Ea H’leo District General Hospital in Dak Lak.

Dak Lak Province, which is suffering from a serious shortage of medical equipment, will receive basic testing machines worth $84,940, including semi-auto biochemistry analyzer, urine analyzer and diagnostic ultrasound system.

Thanks to this project, the hospitals will be able to reduce by half the 400 transfers it does per year and provide prompt and more appropriate medical services to the people. This will benefit 40,000 local residents.

Lam Dong Province had to transfer 1,000 patients last year due to the lack of medical equipment. The $79,382 upgrade for its Cat Tien District Medical Center aims to reduce by 30 per cent the number of transfer cases, and provide 42,000 residents with better medical treatment.

Since 1995 when the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City began to provide assistance under a GGP programme, over 90 projects worth more than $6 million have been implemented in the southern region.
From VietNamNews